Mujuru to China: Investigate Anjin

HARARE - Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) leader Joice Mujuru has called for a thorough investigation by the Chinese Communist Party’s graft-busting organ, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, into claims of widespread looting of Marange diamond revenue by Anjin Investments.

Mujuru’s aide, Bright Matonga, told the Daily News yesterday that ZPF would engage the Chinese Embassy in Harare about the issue after President Robert Mugabe recently made the stunning claim that $15 billion had been looted from Chiadzwa under his government’s watch.

Anjin, which is run by Chinese nationals, is a joint venture between the government’s Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation and China’s State-owned Anhui Foreign and Economic Construction Company.

Matonga said Mujuru’s quest to get Chinese President Xi Jinping to look into Anjin’s operations was necessitated by the knowledge that the company was co-owned by the Zimbabwe National Army and the Chinese military, as well as the fact that “corruption is not tolerated in the Asian country”.

Xi has in the past few years gone after both high-ranking “tigers” as well as lowly “flies” in his anti-corruption drive in China.

Among the senior Communist Party officials who have fallen following Xi’s campaign include former security chief Zhou Yongkang, one of China’s most powerful politicians of the past decade, who was accused of accepting bribes and leaking State secrets.

“We want to know from the Chinese side if they are going to take action on the company and their nationals who are said to be engaging in corrupt activities this side,” he said.

Matonga also questioned the “mega deals” that were signed by the government and China, saying that ZPF suspected that they were not meant to benefit the country, but a few individuals.

Speaking in a televised interview last month, Mugabe said $15 billion worth of diamonds had been looted over several years by mining companies operating in Marange, one of which is Anjin.

“We have not received much from the diamond industry at all. I don’t think we have exceeded $2 billion, yet we think more than $15 billion has been earned. So, where have our carats been going?” the nonagenarian asked.

However, industry experts doubt the veracity of Mugabe’s figures, with the global diamond industry trading about $13 billion a year, and Zimbabwe not among the biggest producers of uncut diamonds.

They argue that Mugabe could have once again been misled about the real state of affairs in the industry as two years ago, the nonagenarian also publicly accused former ZMDC chairman, Godwills Masimirembwa, of receiving $6 million from Ghanaian investors, but was later forced to make an embarrassing U-turn — admitting that he had been fed wrong information by his aides.

According to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), global rough diamond sales have averaged $12,6 billion a year in the last decade, with Zimbabwe’s declared rough diamond output averaging a miserly $266 million per year.

It remains to be seen how the already brooding Chinese will react to Mujuru’s move, as they have since warned Zimbabwe to beware after the government ill-advisedly moved to seize all the diamond mining claims in Chiadzwa, including those in which Chinese companies have interests.

The Asian powerhouse, which has been one of the few major economies that have kept their relations with Harare warm over the past 16 years of political and economic turmoil here, told the Daily News after the government’s controversial decision was announced that Zimbabwe must respect property rights.

“We hope that the Zimbabwean side would earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights of the Chinese companies and employees, according to the local laws and the ‘Agreement on the encouragement and reciprocal protection of investments between China and Zimbabwe,” Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe Huang Ping said in a terse email response to questions.

“The Chinese side is willing to enhance communication and negotiation with the Zimbabwean side, and together create a conducive environment for companies from both sides to conduct mutually-beneficial cooperation,” Ping added.

the reason why Zimbabwe is this situation is because an average Zimbabwean doesn't want the truth. below are some of the truths that people routinely circumvent: 1. rwavhi gukurahundi Mugabe committed genocide in Zimbabwe mainly the gukurahundi atrocities of the 1980s. this is the reason why he doesn't want to vacate the throne because he knows that he will be arrested. this has nothing to do with his marriage to grace is this come well after he had committed the crimes. 2. grace is a useless slut who left her marriage to get married to rwavhi because of pecuniary gains. 3. joice mujuru was the main driver of corruption in zanu with her late hubby rex. she owns a number of farms, mine and buildings around the country. she has no positive contribution to make to the country given her horrendous performance in govt for the past 35 years. she is a liar who wants us to believe that she always had differences with Mugabe yet she begged him to stay on the eve of her official cashiering. the fact that on top of her priorities is the chasing of solo's killers shows that she is in it for her own benefit and not for national benefit. tsvangirayi lost his wife in dodgy circumstances but never has he said that he wants to avenge that. also, joice consistently said that she has no ambition to become president now she is lying that people requested her to be president. the day we learnt to accept and tell the truth, our country and ourselves shall be liberated!!! VIVA SAVE 2018 VIVA!!!

josphat mugadzaweta - 26 March 2016

daft monkeys from pockets first. the company repatriated the loot to china for the benefit of the country so why do you think the Chinese govt will ever waste time investigating when it knows that it benefitted? and you mujuru where were you selling the diamonds from your claim if not to the Chinese. the only day I will start believing what you say is when you declare all the farms, mine, sugar estates and commercial buildings that you own around the country otherwise zvauri kuita naamatonnga ndokunyengana makuvhu apa hapana chinobuda!!!

josphat mugadzaweta - 26 March 2016

Charity begins at home mama. You want the Chinese Xi to sort out your mess to which you were part and parcel. Zvaitasei nhasi ? So we are supposed to listen to your crazy parroting for the reason of clensing your dirty from Zanu-Pf ? Never in the history of mankind have I heard of people viewed as stupid as Zimbabweans by this baobab. Carry on, you may win, since for decades Zimbabweans have been Mugabe`s toys which he intends to hand over to his dear wife Grace on passing away.

Masamba Akareyo - Tanganda - 26 March 2016

Amai JM and her new-democrats,including Matong .What color wool are they trying to pull over the people's eyes? We wait for 2018 when they will learn their true fate.

abri - 26 March 2016

@masamba akareyo- for the first time i almost agree with you on one part,ie charity begins @home and joice must surely investigate herself,we in the revolutionary party appointed her to assist the president in executing his mandate but instead of working for the good of the country she started looting,with lots of questionable dealings,joice became rich whilst the membership of our party wallowed in poverty

truth - 27 March 2016

everyone in zanu was looting that is an open secret. the problem we are faced with is that of change. the choice we have to make from is among thieves. which thief are we voting come 2018. i go for mai mujuru not tsvangirai because he has proved that he is not a democrat either. he sloganeers change that he is not part to. whatever we say, we still remain with a hard choice to make between thieves. the better of all these opinda panyanga.

zvirozviyedzwa - 27 March 2016

Zvirozviyedzwa, speak for yourself and not for right thinking Zimbos. If all ZanuPF people are thieves that does not mean that million of Zimbos who are not ZanuPF are also thieves. So there is a choice besides recycled rubbish?

Okech - 27 March 2016

morgan is party of zanu pf recycling program. remember he was zanu for most of his adult life till 1999 when he formed the movement for change which he now refuses to embrace. he is now using zanu tactics to stay put even after his tenure expired in 2014. all these potential leaders have weak points. i choose dr mai mujuru.

zvirozviyedzwa - 27 March 2016

Mugabe was mislead, a research by Bain & Company revealed that the rough cut diamond production generate a revenue of $14.8 billion on a global scale.

Mentalist - 29 March 2016

Mujuru Mujuru oh my goodness what are you doing? Not so Bright Matonga is your aide? Ha ha your project is dead before its even begun. I thought having Diesel from the Rock Mutasa in your front bench was a severe handicap but now you have this clown for an aide? We all know Mujuru is not the brightest so she needs to surround herself with people who are street and book smart to have a hope but she has taken all the dead wood from the vampire party.

Galore 123 - 29 March 2016

Not-So-Bright Matonga should tell us about his looting at Zupco and who should investigate him....Nxaaa

admire taguma musingarabwi - 29 March 2016

the end move in politics is to always pick up a gun and fight

Vilbram Avril - 30 March 2016

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